Look at Ye Lan!

"How?!" The afro-haired man's expression changed. He couldn't understand why Servine had been completely unaffected by Hypnosis.

Even if the hypnosis had failed, it should have slowed Servine's attack.

Amid the flames, Servine used Iron Tail to fling Haunter into the air. Yet instead of following up with another attack, it fired a Leech Seed, which began draining what little stamina Haunter had left.

Only after Haunter had completely lost its ability to battle and the Will-O-Wisp faded did everyone see what had happened on the field.

On the devastated Grassy Terrain, Servine had its eyes tightly shut. Only after hearing the referee declare, "Haunter is unable to battle," did it open its eyes and return to its spot, racing against time to rest.

At that moment, the replay on the venue's big screen showed the final moments of the battle.

In the footage, illuminated by the firelight, Servine kept its eyes shut and remained entirely unaffected by Hypnosis.

Not only that, despite losing its vision, Servine's movements were just as swift as before, as though its eyes were completely unnecessary.

"Is this Servine's perception really that strong? It didn't seem hindered at all by losing its sight."

"Exactly. If that move hadn't caught its opponent off guard, the battle might have gone on for a while longer."

Listening to the surrounding audience's discussion, Liu Yan smiled faintly.

"I never expected that brat to take Servine's scent-perception training this far."

Back when they were still at Mianzhou No. 1 High School, Ye Lan had nearly lost to Lin Yan's Smokescreen tactics.

The reason was that snake-like Pokémon were already weaker than other species when it came to vision. With their line of sight obstructed and no significant gap in strength, it became even harder for them to detect and sense their enemy's traces.

Training its sense of smell was not only unexpected, but also a way for Servine to play to its strengths and compensate for its weaknesses.

Sure enough, almost no one in the audience had noticed Servine's technique. They all assumed it had crushed its opponent through ordinary Normal-type energy sensing.

"Is it time for the sixth match?"

For some reason, Ye Lan did not feel much pressure.

Looking at Servine, whose gaze remained sharp and whose spirit showed no signs of flagging, aside from scorch marks on some of its scales, Ye Lan vaguely understood the arena's intentions.

They had neither deliberately targeted him nor gone easy on him.

They were simply following the original matchmaking rules: the more consecutive victories one had, the higher the win rate of the opponents they were matched against.

Perhaps the losses he had suffered so far were entirely within the arena's acceptable limits.

The revenue from ticket sales alone for a venue that could hold fifty thousand people was astronomical.

Even after deducting the consumption of all its facilities, the arena would still make a fortune.

But perhaps the arena had not realized that Ye Lan was aiming for fifteen consecutive wins!

According to Ye Lan's calculations, the base points for fifteen straight wins came to .5 points—a full 16,300 points!

If he exchanged them in the arena, he could obtain resources worth more than thirty million. He could sweep away every exchangeable item on the entire second floor!

Even the Pokémon Egg of the pseudo-legendary Goomy, once far beyond his reach, was now merely an extra in Ye Lan's eyes!

Let's see whether you'll still be able to sit still when that happens!

"Now, let's welcome the contestants for our sixth match!" Host Xiao Li's voice rang throughout the venue through the loudspeaker system, sending the atmosphere in the stands even higher.

Ye Lan had handled five consecutive matches with ease. Servine had even been able to hold back its final blow and end the battle with Leech Seed.

That both conserved stamina and allowed it to recover its injuries through Leech Seed.

The endless vitality of Grass-type Pokémon was precisely what Ye Lan loved about them.

"Teacher Liu, how many consecutive wins do you think Ye Lan can achieve?" Cheng Xiaolu, sitting beside Liu Yan with Cottonee in her arms, asked.

Cheng Xiaolu was the trainer who had commanded a Butterfree that had mastered Confusion during the first-week assessment.

Although she had lost to Ye Lan in the first round, she had still made it into the elite class with Butterfree's strength.

Moreover, during her month and more in the elite class, Cheng Xiaolu had not only retained her seat but had also made the school team selection with fourth place.

It could only be said that anyone who underestimated Bug-type Pokémon would pay the price.

The Bug type not only had the "Bug King" Heracross and the "Light of the Bug Type" Scizor, but also Volcarona, which possessed the potential of a pseudo-legendary.

Wang Zihao had carelessly lost to Cheng Xiaolu's Butterfree, which was why he had been so emotional at the time.

Bug and Grass types were practically the oldest and second-oldest brothers in the contempt hierarchy. Grass types were fortunate to have so many starter Pokémon to uphold their image; otherwise, they would not be much better off than Bug types.

"With Servine's current condition, eight consecutive wins shouldn't be difficult for Ye Lan. It'll depend on the strength of the opponents he faces afterward."

"Cottonee~"

Cottonee waved the cheering stick in its hand, looking exceptionally excited.

Its trainer was so cool, and so was its big sister! The entire venue was cheering for them!

This reminded the little Pokémon of what Uncle Lei had said, and hope filled its eyes. Would it have an opportunity like this someday too?

As for why the little fellow was here, it was entirely because it could not sit still in Ye Lan's waiting room.

Originally, Ye Lan had told Cottonee to watch the match in the waiting room. However, it had run out on its own. After a staff member discovered it and notified Manager Lin, they could only leave the little fellow with Liu Yan and the others for the time being.

Large-scale battles like this did not allow non-participating Pokémon onto the field. After all, Pokémon possessed all sorts of strange abilities, and the fairness of the battle could easily be affected.

"Ye Lan's rate of improvement over the past month has been way too fast. Servine could have broken through to the advanced level long ago, right?" Chen Yang sighed in admiration from the side.

Ever since his childhood friend had received his starter Pokémon, it was as though he had become a completely different person, to the point that Chen Yang found him unfamiliar.

Although he had also managed to get into the school team after much difficulty, his father still often compared him to Ye Lan.

Chen Yang: "Dad, Charmander has broken through to the intermediate level!"

Father Chen: "Look at Ye Lan. You two grew up together, so why is there such a huge difference? His parents are both ordinary people too!"

Chen Yang: "Dad, Charmander evolved into Charmeleon. What do you think? Cool, right?"

Father Chen: "Look at Ye Lan. You two grew up together, so why is there such a huge difference..."

Chen Yang: "Dad, I made it onto the school team. I didn't disgrace you as an advanced trainer, did I?"

Father Chen: "Look at Ye Lan. You two..."

Chen Yang: "...Dad, between Ye Lan and me, who's actually your biological son?"

Father Chen: "Look at Ye Lan..."

Chen Yang & Charmeleon: ???

The memories surged back, and Chen Yang felt nothing but bitterness. He had tread on thin ice all his life, never knowing when he would reach the other shore.

He looked up at the battlefield. When he saw Ye Lan's opponent for the sixth match, Chen Yang found it highly amusing.

"It's actually a Charmeleon? Hahaha, aside from Servine, that's probably the Pokémon Ye Lan understands best!"

(I clicked too fast and posted tomorrow's chapter. Hope you readers enjoy it—the author is off to write.)